Control system.



, PATENTED, L'PRJ'I, 1906.

88318349. v v r E. B. CASE.

CONTROL SYSTEM.

APPLmA'Tmn nub 001210. 1904.

' I 2 SHBETS-SHBET 1.

WITNESSES INVEHTOR frank fiqgse.

' 'P TENTED APR. 17, 1906.

FIE. CASE.

CONTROL-SYSTEM.-

AI'PLIOATION FILED OCT. 10. 1904.

2 SHEETS-$112M z.

IN EMTQR;

Wnrifissss,

I I Frank ECase. MA v A Q .4 etween the cars,;-'

"no ed to 30; the operator, would lose 45 the control=cable, and to this end responding failure. of

sTA'rEs PATENT OFFICE.

tEANKE. CASE, OF soHENEoTAnY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORKI,

CONTROL SYSTEM.

I Specification of Letters Patent. I

' Patented-April 17,1906.

Application filed October 10, 1904. Serial lulu. 227,812.

York, have. invented certain new and useful Improvements in Control Systems,

I of which the following is a, specification.

The present invention relates to systems of motor control, and more particularlly to the motors on severalcars eta train from a single point on the train; 4 In my application, Serial No. 215,114, filed July 2, 1904, there is illustrated an electrical system of train control in which the circuitbreakers located in the motor-circuits .of the -s 'everal .carsaremaintained closed by means of an mde endent circuitffromthe currentl-line potential at. all'times even 'whenthe: control and'motor circuits are deenergized, the current being, however, limitc'ollectizpugl ed to some eitent by "means of resistances. Itis evidentythar gre'at precaution must be ask-taken control circuits,- jsi,nce a""s hort-circuit between I the twc would cause the control system to be supplied withcui'fentii'respective of theposiand, as a result" to insulate'this circuit from the motoror I control of the moto'r's. In order 'to'obviatfea the danger of such a condition of affairs, the train-wire for mam- 'tion-of-t'he mastercontro taming the circuit+breaker closed has been placed in a separate cable outside of the cable $5 carrying" the control-wiresfor the motors. arrangement necessitates not only the expense of two cables and separate couplers therefor; but also materially affects the convenience and ease of making the connections "/One object-of the present invention is to i provide a safe and efficient circuit-breaker actuatin g and tripping system in which the train wire or wires may safely beplaced in have so arranged a circui -breaker actuating and tripping system-that .thecircuit-breakers may be opened at willand that the ;W1ll open upon failure'of control-current wit out a corthe motor current, but wherein the circuit breakers will notbe afiectedwvhen both the motorand control currents I are interrupted simultaneously, as'occurs durvices,.-this circuit being subject-' matic view I.- Similar reference ingthe frequent stopping of a car or train in' 7 operation.

his line or'w1re, which connects the respective current collectiiig devices of the several cars,

so that the control system maybe PI'OVldGd with current even thou h the collecting delt is frequently desirable in equipments electrical in character to have a train I vices on the car uponw ch the master-controller. is situated fails for any reason to recelve, current, as when the collecting device is insulated from the rail or trolley-wire or bears uppn'a dead section. It is a parent that such a; us-w re 1s subjected to t e entire line potential and that if for any reason a short-circuit occurs or one of the connecting devices is gr unded or comes upon a dead section or u on a sectlon having a lower ote'ntial than t at upon which the othercol ectmg devices bear-t e bus-wire must ca abnormally large currents, endangering t e mslllat'lgll an crhaps causing serious damage, and

even where the abnormal current-1s not sulficlently eat toproduce serious results it may at le'ast low out the fuses in the bnsline and cause annoyance and perhaps material delay on account of repairs.

-A further object of the present invention is to 'so arrange the connections between the.

several'cl 'nrent carrying devices and the master-controllers'u on the-cars of the train that the current wlnc may pass throu line underabnormal conditions is imited.

' --'1-he present invention in its varlous. as pects willbe more clearly nection with the following the-accompanying drawings, fe'rred formthereof.

In the drawings,

description. and disclosing a prein accordance with the present'invention.

throughout. the specification and drawings to indicate corresponding parts.

.. lhe separately-actuated contacts lto '16,

M and. The den-the control understood in con Figure 1 is a diagram- I of a single car equipment, arranged in accordance. with the present inventrain of cars equipped I characters will be usedinclusive, of the motor-controller C are used --for. controlling the motors said motor-controller C is un of the master-controllers C and G which may be located at any desired point on. the car or tram. shown in development, as is customary in 5 illustrating such a structure, and the master controller C is merely shown in outline. Both of said master-controllers are connected to the train-wires 17 to 25, inclusive, which are operatively connected to the actu 1o siting-coils of the separately-actuated contacts of the motor controller. train-wires may be connected to corresponding train-wires on adjacent cars of the train by means of the couplers a; The contacts 1 to 6, inclusive, operate to vary the amount of resistance which is connected inthe circuit with the motor, M, the resistance-sections controlled by said contacts being represented by-26 to 30, inclusive. The contacts 7 and 8 represent the linecontacts, which are adapted to connect the trolley or main'source of plowerto the circuits leading to the motors and M The contacts 9 and 14,-inclusive,

operate to vary the amount of resistance which is connected in circuit with the motor M the said resistance-sections controlled by said contacts being represented by 31 to 35,

' inclusive. The series .and parallel contacts 15 and 16, res ectively, are supplied with auxiliary switc es 36 and 37, which, respectively,prevent the completion of the controlc'ircuit through the actuating-coils of the contacts 16 and 15 and serve as an interlock be-;

tween the series and parallel contacts; The

- '5 line-contact 7 is provided with the auxiliary switches 38 and 39, and the line-contact 8 1s rovided with the auxiliary switch 40. The notion and o eration of said auxiliary switches will be hereinafter described. The 0 resistance-sections 41, 42, and 43 are em-- ployed to compensate for theresistance of the actuating-coils ofthe contacts of the motor-controller when said. coils are cutout of circuit, thereby maintaining a proximately a 5 uniform current in the contro -circuits.-

The master-controller C includes the relatively fixed contacts-fingers a to a, inclusive, and the movable. contactsegments b to .11, inclusive, 6" and b, c to c, c and 0".

5; The ovable member, on which said seg .4- entsarryinounteialso carries the contactgments d; and d", which are electrically con nect'd together ,and respectively engage fingers a andu when the master-controller is .55 in its oifosition.- For a more detailed description -0 these various arts, reference -may be'had to the patent to L. Perry, N 0. 687,060, granted November 19,1901, and to my application previously mentioned. The auxiliary cut out switch, whichis ada ted to open the motor-circuit automatical y whenever the controlling-handle i'sreleased by the motorman, is indicated at 44'. A more detailed description of said auxiliary switch, and its actuating mechanism,may be The master-controller U is out switch for The-said position.

obtained from, my application, Serial No 75,488, filed September 15, 1901, The blowout coil for said auxiliary cut out switch isindicated at 4:5, and ehis the main blow-out coil of the matencontroller.

the motor-circuit is indicated One feature of the present inventionconsists in the arrangement of feeders for the control circuits, Separate connections are provided from each mastenccntroller to the current-collecting device T, and in each connectionthere is arranged. a resistance-section e8 as great as the" current requirement of the Lcontrol-circuits. will permit. from each'co'nnection extends to the end of A ,branch 49 the car opposite that to which the respective controller is "situated and is providedwith a con ling-terminal a. In Fig. 2 these control er confections areillustrated as applied to a train oftwo cars and as coupled together by the jumpei J. It is evident from this figure that if the train is run in the direction in which the master-controller on the 'extreme left is brought intoplay this controllermay take current from eitherset of trolleyrshoes and ema l: but a single section of resistance,

While if ah train is being run in the opposite direction and the mastercontroller on the extreme righfpis in service then the same current-recei" capability applies to this controller. At the same time, however, two sections of resistance are at all timessituated between the current-collecting devices of adjacent cars. By this arrangement, should the shoes of the'lcading car leave the-third rail or become insulated therefrom, current will besupplied to the control system and to the motors of the leading car but the current which may flow through the coupler under abnormal conditions is greatly limited. I

The means for controlling the circuitbreaker will now be'described. The circuitbreaker maybe of anydesired form, the contact-arm 50 thereof being attached to a core or plunger'51 of the actuating-electromagnet 52. The said contact arm comprises the usual brush contact 53 and the auxilia contact 54, which are adapted to engage a fixed contact 55. The circuit-breaker is set by an energizationof the actuating-electromagnet 52-and is held closed by a suitable catch 56, which engages with a rejection 57 on one arm of. the toggle 58. The toggle 58 is not moved into a straight line or buckled over center when the arm 50 is in its closed Therefore when otherwise free the arm 50 opens by gravity, assisted, if desired, by a spring-59. By employing a catch to hold the circuitJoreaker' closed it ispossible to dispense with the continuously-energized wire, as illustrated in my prior a plication,

The main cut- 7 IIO for. holding the circuit,breakers c osed durcurrent reaches a predetermined maximumi the lever 64 attracted by the electromagnet, trippin the catch 56 and allowing the:

circuitrea er to open. IA pair of electromagnets 67 and 68, energized by control-current and motor-current, respectively, are arranged adjacent the lever 64, and the cores of these electromagnets areconnected by a link or arm 69, pivoted thereto. The arrange ment is such that when both electroma ets- 67 and 68 are energized or deenergized simultaneously the link or arm 69. moves parallel to itself without engaging with the t'rlppin'gilever 64, this being practically what takes place when the controller is moved from its "offf toa running position or back again,

circuits. arelnterrupted. If, however, foror when both control and motor currents or any reason the control-current fails or becomes. ineffective, due -to short circuits or otherwise .while the'motor-current continues then-electromagnet 67 is deenergized and the core-thereof drops, carrying with it one end of link 69 and swinging this link about its pivotal connection witlfthe core of 'electro magnet .68-as a center and causing its free end to strikethe tripping levr.64, 'so as to oscillate sa d lever sufficientlyto'trip the catch 56, whereupon the circuit-breaker immediately opens. By this means it 'is" im ossible for the ,motors-to-r'eceive current a ter the control current fails. l Af'resistance63 is insert'edseries with electromagnet 67 for the urpose of cutting downlthe current which ows through said-electromagnet, very little current being required to hold the core thereof raised. The circuit through electr0mag net :67 is completed through-contact a of the master-controller and through switch 70, so

that .theoperator ormotorman' may trip the circuit-breakerat willby simply opening the switch. thereby causlng electromagnet 67 to 'be'deenergized. It is evident that train- W1re25 needbe ener ized only during the tnnethejmotors areta ing current, thusper mitting' this wire to be placed in the cable and-jumper carrying the control-wires.

. in-theoperationof the system when it is desired to set the circuit-breaker the'master controller C is moved into its off position, then the normally open switch 61 is closed momentarily. 'Acircuit is thereby completed from the trolley T, through the switch 61, thencethrough the contact-segments d and d contact a train-wire 21, resistance 43, auxiliary switch 38, auxiliary switch 40, through the ac-' tuating electromagnet 52 of the circuitbreaker to ground. The elec'tromagnet 52 is thus energized and the circuit-breaker is closed, being maintained in its closed position by means of the catch 56'. It will thus be seen that on account of the auxiliary switches 38" and 40, carried by the line-contacts 7 and 8, and the auxiliary contact-segments in the master-.

controller both the motor-controller and the" master-controller must be in their off posit; tlons beforethe circuit through the settin coil of the circuit-breaker can be complete When the master-controller is moved into its osition and switch 60 is first operative closed, a contro -circuit is completed from the trolley, through resistance 48, switch 60,,

blow-out coil 46, blow-out coil 45, cut-out switch 44, contact-finger a, contact-segments b and b contact-finger a, train-wire 24,- actuating-coils of the contacts 6, 7, 9, and 15, auxiliary switch 37, train-wire 17, contactfinger a, contact-segments b and 5 contact-finger a to ground. The motor-con-- troller contacts are 0 erated to connect the motors in series with a lthe resistance, and the circuit through said motors may be traced as follows: from trolley T, main cut-out switch 47, blow-out coil 94 of the circuit-breaker,

contact 55, contact-arm 50, overload-coil 66,

contact 7 of the motor controller, thence through contact 6 of said controller to the resistance-sections 30 29 28 27 26, motor M, contact 15, thence through contact 9 of said controller, through the resistance sections 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35, through motor M to ground. As the mastercontroller moves through its subsequent operative positions the resistance-sections are successively cut out of the motor circuit until the motors are. connected in series without resistance, then the motors are connected in parallel with resistance'in circuit with each motor, and the resistance sections are successively cut out until the motors are connected in parallel without resistance. r n

When the contact 7is' operated, the circuit through the actuating-electromagnet 52 of the circuit-breaker is broken at the auxiliary switch 38, thereby disconnecting the trainconductor 2 from said electromagnet and rendering it impossible to reset the circuitbreaker after it has been operated, so'long as the contact 7 remains in its closed position, but by employing means, such as the auxiliary switch 39, it is possible to use the trainconductor 21 during the acceleration of the motors to control the contacts of the motorcontroller corresponding to a certain resistance-step. Thus with the master-controller in its fourth position (indicated 1) 4 4) the control-circuit, in addition to t at above traced, maybe traced as follows: from contact-finger a, contact-segments T) and b contact-fingers a train-wire 21, resistance 43, auxiliary switch 39, through the actuating-coils o'f'the contacts 3, 4, and 5 to ground at G; also branching at the point it, through the actuatin -coils of the contacts 12, 11, and to grown at G. Thus in said position of the master-controller the contacts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, L1, 12, and are operated'and the resistance-sections 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 are short-eircuited.

- The control-circuit corresponding to the first parallel position of the master controller (indicated by 7 7) may be traced as follows: from trolley Tjresistance 48, switch 60, coils 46 and 45, cut-out switch 4A, contact-finger a, contact-segments c and c contact-fiiiger o train-wire Q4,-actuating-coils of contacts 6, 7, 9, 8, and 16 of the motor--controlier,

auxiliary switch36, train-Wire 18, contact-' finger at of the master-controller C, contact segments c" and 0 contact-fingera .to ground. The corresponding motor circuits are as follows: from trolle 11, through the switch 47, the circuit-hrea er arm 50,- over loadcoil 66, contact 7, contact 6, resistancesections 30, .119, 28, 27, and 26, motor M, contact "16 to i'ound; also branching at the point p throng the contact 8, contact 9,=resistance-sections 31 to 35, inclusive, motor M to ground. It will thus be seen that the motors are connected in parallel with each other with the resistance-sections 26 to 30, inclusive, connected in series with the motor M and the resistance-sections 31 to 35, in-

' elusive, connected in series with the motor M I If whilethe master-controller is in any one of its operative positions, the circuit-breaker is tripped, either intentionally, as by the opening of switch 7 O, or automatically by the operation of the overloadcoil 66 or due to a loss of current in the control-circuit, it is impossible to reset said circuit-breaker without first moving the master-controller C.

back to its off position, So as to bridge the contact-fingers a and a. Any desired num her of circuit-breakersmay. be controlled in this manner from any desired master-controller.

Although Ihave herein shown a specific form of circni reaker and tripping mechan- I ism embodying my invention as applied to an electric-control system, do not care to be limited thereto, as many modifications may be made Without involving a departure from the spirit and scope. of my invention, and in by'LettersPatent of the United States,is-

the claims hereto appended I aim to. cover allsuch modifications and substitutions.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure 1. In a systelnof control, in combination,

a plurality of circuits, a switch in one of said circuits, and means operable to open said switch only upon the deenergization of one when both magnets are denergized 'simu of said circuits while the other remains ener' 'gized.

2. In a system of control, in combination, a motor-circuit, a control-circuit, a normally closed circuit-breaker in said motoncircuit, 7c

and means operable upon the denergization ofthe control circuit while the motor-circuit Q o u I v remains energized to trip the c1rcu1tbrealrer.

3. In a system of control, in combination, a motor-circuit, a control-circuit, a circuitbreaker in said motor-circuit, and means op erable to trip the circuit-breaker when'one of' said'circui ts is 'deenergi zed but not Wheiifboth are deenergized simultaneously.

4. In a system 01 control, in combination, 8o

controlled and control circuits, a circuitbreaker, and means operable to cause the circuit-breaker to open upon the deen'ergize-y' tion of one of said circuits but not upon the simultaneous deenergization of both circuits. 2 15 5. In a system of control, in combination, controlled and control circuits, a circuitbreaker, and means operable to cause the sir cuit-breaker 4 to open upon the deenergiza tion of the controhcircuit While the controlled circuit remains energized but not when both circuits are deener ized simultaneously.

6. In asystem 0 control, in combination,

a motor-circuit and a control-circuit, acircuit-breaker, means for setting said circuitbreaker, means for tripping the cii"euit breaker on overload in the motor-circuit, and

means for tripping'the circuit-breaker upon failure of the current in the control-circuit.

too

the circuitbre'aler, and means cooperating with said electroma note for trippingthe circuit-breaker upon t e denei'gization'of one of said electromagnets while the other electromagnet remains energized:

9. In a system of control, a controiled and a control circuit ,-a circuit-breaker, an electromagnet in each of said circuits and adjacent the circuit-breaker, and means cooperating with said electroniagnets for tripping the cirsuit-breaker upon the deenergization of the magnet in the control-circuit While the other remains energizedthe arrangement being such that thecircuit-hreaker 13 not trip ad is neously.

10. In a system of control, a motor-circuit and a control-circuit, 'a normally closed cirsuit-breaker, means for trippingsaid circuit breaker at will, means for tripping it upon overload in the motor circuit, and means for tripping it upon failure of control-current while the motor-circuit remains energized.

11. In a system of train control, compris- 5 ing controllers on a plurality of cars operated through a train-line from a master-controller located at any desired point on the train, a circuit-breaker on each of the motor-cars,- and circuit-breaker actuating means comprising an electroma net included in the motor-circuit and an e ectromagnet connected to a conductor in the train-line, the said actuatin means being so constructed and arrange that it will cause the circuitbreaker too en only. in case current continues to flow t e motor-circuit after the electromagnet connected to the conductor in the train-line 1 as been denergized. .112. In a system of train control, comprismg controllers on a plurality of cars operated through a train-line from a master-controller located at any desired point on the train, an automatic circuit-breaker on each of the motorcars, means' for normally maintaining 2.5 each circuit-breaker in its closed position, and actuating means for the-maintaining means of each circuit-breaker comprising an electromagnet included in themotor-circuit and an electromagnet connected to a conductor in the train-line, the said actuating means being so constructed and arranged that it will actuate the maintaining means torelease the circuit-breaker only in case current continues to flow in the motor-circuit after the electro- 35 magnet connected to the conductor in the train-line has been denergized.

13. In a system or' train control, a connection between the current-collecting devices of a pluralityof cars, a resistance in said ,con-

nection, a' controller and connections there-,

for, so arranged that the circuit passing whole resistance between the several collecting devices.

15. In a system of train control, a connection between the current-collecting devices of 5 5 two cars, a resistance in said connection, a controller on each of said cars, and connections therefor so arranged that the circuit passing through either controller from the current-collecting device of either car contains a ortion only of said resistance.

16. n a system of train control, a connection between the current-collecting devices of two cars, a resistance in said connection, a controller upon each car, and connections therefor so arranged that the circuit passing through either car from the current-collecting devices of either car contains one-half 0 said resistance.

17. In a system of control, a car provided with two controllers and a separate connection from each controller to the current-collecting device of the car, a resistance in each connection and a lead extending from each connection from a point between the resist- 7 5 ance and controller to one end of the car.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of October, 1904.

FRANK E. CASE.

' Witnesses:

' EDWARD WILLIAMS, Jr.,

HELEN ORFonD. 

